Today' Host To Speak At Allentown College Fyi

March 21, 1986|The Morning Call

Bryant Gumbel, anchorman of NBC News' "Today" show, will deliver the third-annual Frank L. Marcon lecture at Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales' Labuda Center for the Performing Arts at 8 p.m. April 4.

The annual lecture has been made possible by donations from friends of the college in memory of Frank L. Marcon, a prominent Allentown area businessman who was president of Duggan and Marcon until his death in 1982. He served as a member of the board of trustees of Allentown College 1966-82.

Since becoming the anchor of the "Today" show in January 1982, Gumbel has made broadcasts from locations such as Moscow; Geneva, Switzerland; Vietnam and Rome. For his work in Moscow, he was given the Edward R. Murrow Award by the Overseas Press Club as well as the Edward Weintal Prize from the Georgetown University Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.

Gumbel fist worked for NBC Sports in the fall of 1975 as a co-host of the network's pregame football show. By January 1982, he had not only become that program's only host but also the host for NBC Sports' coverage of major league baseball, championship college basketball and National Football League telecasts.

His career in broadcasting began in 1973 when he became a sportscaster for KNBC, the NBC television station in Los Angeles, where he was appointed the station's sports director in 1976. He remained in that post until 1980.

Gumbel received bachelor's degree in 1970 from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.

He and his wife have a son and a daughter. They reside in Manhattan and Waccabue, N.Y.